How to get more useful travel advice from chatbots — Channel NewsAsia
Singaporean outlet Channel NewsAsia, citing an article by The New York Times, reported that chatbots can help plan a travel itinerary if they are treated as a tool for dialogue rather than expecting a finished plan after a single prompt. The quality of recommendations largely depends on the level of detail in the request and subsequent refinement of the responses.
Ethan Mollick, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School who researches artificial intelligence, advises treating chatbots as conversational partners rather than infallible sources of answers. Broad prompts, such as asking for a trip to be planned for someone who loves museums and good food, usually produce equally broad recommendations.
More details in the prompt
For personalized advice, it is worth describing personal preferences, the purpose of the trip, attitudes toward chain hotels, preferred formats for tours, restaurants and getting around the city. The article's author advises creating a separate traveler profile if necessary and adding friends' recommendations or the results of independent research to it.
It is also possible to directly ask a chatbot to pose clarifying questions. While testing ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, the author asked the systems not to create a finished day-by-day schedule, but rather expanded lists of venues, activities, nightlife options and accommodation. The results can then be narrowed down with additional prompts and grouped by city district.
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Checking recommendations
Different chatbots have access to different sources, so their answers may vary. The article notes that users should ask whether a service can search for information on a specific website and request links to the sources used. Some platforms that chatbots cannot always fully browse offer their own AI-based tools.
The author warns that chatbots can recommend closed establishments or nonexistent places. During a test, Gemini suggested a restaurant and a live music venue that had already closed, while Claude named two Brazilian bakeries that, after being checked on Google Maps, turned out to be a parking lot and a Japanese restaurant. Therefore, each location is advised to be checked independently before visiting.
For regular trips, it is useful to save a separate thematic chat or project in order to return to established preferences, adjust the itinerary during the journey and tell the system which recommendations proved successful.
